Bullet-proof car kit sale on Net

KARAN CHOUDHURY

Shopping for cover

New Delhi, April 10: After apparels and appliances, e-commerce portal Snapdeal.com will sell bullet-proof kits for vehicles.

The online buying site has tied up with Defense Land Systems (DLS) India, a security solutions company owned by the Mahindra and Mahindra group. The portal will promote and market bullet-proof kits for the Mahindra Scorpio.

The company has been receiving a lot of enquiries for the kits from small towns.

“We are witnessing around 1,000 views of this product per day and more than 50 per cent of the enquiries are coming from tier-II and III cities. For the first time, people have the option of booking such a product online. Customers in these cities, who earlier didn’t know where and how to place orders, are taking this opportunity to know more about the bullet-proof kits and order them,” said Tony Navin, vice-president, business development at Snapdeal.com.

The kit can be booked online with an initial amount of Rs 75,000, while the total cost is between Rs 12.66 lakh and Rs 18.33 lakh. It includes all-side bullet-proof panels, a complete set of bullet-proof glasses, run-flat tyres, bullet-proof carpet, anti-explosion material kit for fuel tank and a vehicle tracking device.

According to the company, the kit is capable of withstanding attacks from .22 calibre to .32 rifles.

Navin said enquiries had come from Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat as well as from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

“We have just launched the product and it is at preliminary stages. But we believe there would be more demand from the interior cities,” he said.

Snapdeal is the first company to sell such a product online.

“Demand for bullet-proof kits has been rising in India. Mahindra got into this tie-up as they wanted an easy reach to the customers. One way is to open outlets but that is expensive and not viable. Going online will help the company easily reach out to customers in small towns and take orders,” Navin said.

Customers have to just place the order with the online portal after which DLS executives will pick the car from anywhere in the country.